A Company 1-19 Basic Training In Fort Benning, Georgia

One More Day!!

Real quick, I just wanted to pass along the news that Brendan won't be deploying now until the 5th! A whole days worth of time is great :). He came home after breakfast and told me. Alright.. that's it. I was just so excited and wanted to share the news! haha

We got a lot of ice last night, as I heard you guys got a lot of snow! Be Careful!!

Latest word from Texas

Hey guys!
I hope everyone's week has started off well! It's down to about 40 degrees here. Yesterday was really foggy all day. Brendan had the day off so was a very relaxing day for us, which is great. He got off pretty early today, too. The work days will most likely continue to be short until deployment.
Last night we spent about two hours packing and unpacking all of Bren's gear for Iraq. It was mind boggling to see all of the things he has to carry with him at all times over there. I couldn't believe it. He has three HUGE duffle bags plus all of the add-ons to his ACU's (his camo work outfit he will have to wear basically 24/7). He's not allowed to have any civi's. The closest thing he has to those would be his PT (physical training) clothes. Needless to say, he is not happy about that and I don't blame him.
The word is right now is that he could possibly be over there for 18 months rather than the 12 months because Obama wants to be out of there in 16 months so he won't send over anymore troops. But everyone knows how much things constantly change in the army. If he does end up having to be over there 18 months, he will get two two week leaves instead of only one. He still has no idea how long he will be in Kuwait or where they are going after that. A positive is that he bought a laptop a few days ago so I will be able to keep in much better contact with him. That is basically where we are at now. Not a lot has changed.
Caiden's doing great. He laughs, plays, and "talks" all the time. He is rolling over now. Spoiled as ever, but you can never spoil a baby too much. I have some more pictures attached of course. You know me, the camera queen. Ha-ha :) Have a wonderful week everyone.

Graduation Pictures

Brendan Smitke



Bryan Smitke



Brendan's buddy Sandusky

Care Package Ideas

I've been searching the internet for lists of items that soldiers seem to be asking for the most. i've combined several lists and have come up with the following:

PERSONAL CARE ITEMS:

Shower to Shower body powder
toothbrush and paste
nail clippers
deodorant
mouthwash
floss
hair bands , etc for the girls
nail files and polish for the girls
razors and shaving cream
female products
foot powder
soap
shampoo and conditioner
wet wipes
icy/hot patches
foot massager
vitamins
protein powder
Avon Skin-so-soft (great for removing face paint and a good bug repellant)
Vasine
brush and comb

CREATURE COMFORTS:
disposable camera
playing cards
dice
CD's
AA batteries
board games
newspapers
magazines
koozies
DVD's
canned air to blow sand out of electronic items
books
ink pens
inflatable seat cushions
air fresheners
word/puzzle books
hackie sacks
rubix cubes
ziplock bags (ALL sizes)
stress squeeze ball
blank cards and stationary , note pads
AT&T calling cards
copenhagen snuff ( even if they don't chew stateside copenhagen is a great bargaining tool)

FOOD ITEMS:

Jelly Beans
Rice Krispie treats
Altoids
Beef Jerky
Snack mixes
sunflower seeds
gum
nuts
Little Debbie's
Coffee , Cocoa
Gatorade
Powdered drink mixes
Microwavable canned meals ( pasta , soups , sardines , etc)
Pringles
microwave popcorn
Ramen noodles
mac and cheese
granola bars
spices , olives , pickles , squeeze butter , hot sauce
energy bars
jolly ranchers , lemonheads , etc
homemade cookies can be mailed. Best tip...pack in unsalted , unbuttered popcorn to help absorb moisture to keep them fresh)
canned fruit
microwavable plates , bowls , paper plates
mugs (unbreakable)


CLOTHING:
shoe laces for tennis shoes and boots
brown t-shirts (army surplus stores)
boot socks
underwear
hand warmers
black wool or leather gloves
black wool socks
disposable shower towels

SURVIVAL GEAR:
utility knife , folding knife , swiss army knife
multi-purpose tool
adventure medical kits
rescue inflators

GOOD WILL ITEMS:

Kids there like sour candy as opposed to sweet so items like SweetTarts and Smarties are great to hand out to the kids to build a relationship

Beanie Babies to pass out to scared kids


ITEMS NOT TO SEND:

Anything that will melt easy
waterless hand cleaners (wet wipes preferred)
flashlights
compass
sun screen (TONS over there)
liquor
porn of any kind


MAILING:

You can go to your local post office and ask for a flat rate box. It costs around $8 to send and can hold quite a bit of stuff. Boxes take 10-14 days to get there.


I've also included a link to a care package idea website that is the best I've found so far. It's done by a military wife and has some great suggestions for kids and wives to send special packages to their soldier.

The Day Draws Near

Talked to Brendan last night. He is definitely leaving on the 4th. They will spend at least 2 weeks in Kuwait before being sent out. The problem in Iraq is that the Iraqi government is slowly booting out our soldiers. A problem because now the troops that were planning to go there are now not needed or at least wanted. Normally that would sound like a good thing. However , odds are he'll end up going to Afghanistan at some point. Brendan says some troops have been sitting in Kuwait for 4 months not knowing where they're going. My thought is if you have to sit in Kuwait for 4 months and NOT get shot at then I'ld want in that line. It all goes towards your downtime towards being able to go home and he;ll still collect combat pay.
I'm keeping fingers and toes crossed that my income tax refund gets here by next Friday. If so I'll be flying out that week-end. I want to get a few days in to visit before he leaves. I hate living in the unknown. If not I'll be stuck leaving the 3rd after I get my check which won't leave me any time at all to visit.
I'll be giving Brendan the sign on information for this blog so he can upload videos and add comments when he gets access to the internet over there. I suppose he'll make me change the heading on the blog about handsome soldier though!
Still no word on his brother, Bryan. Brendan was asking yesterday if I'd heard anything. News moves across the pond very , very slowly but I hope to hear something soon.

Update Letter From Rachel

Hello Everyone :)
Yet again, another email. You're gonna get tired of me. Haha! I hope everyones weeks has started off great.

I have some more pictures attached. So enjoy! If any of you can think of anyone else who would enjoy reading these updates send me their email and I will def put them in my address book.

Anyways.. as the weeks close in on Brendan deploying, it's getting harder. Not only for me, but for Brendan, too. We've been talking a lot about the day to come. I am now in an FRG (family readiness group). It keeps me updated to a "T" about how Brendan and his Brigade are doing, where they're at, addresses, and many of the sort. It keeps me close to the other wives of the husbands in that Brigade as well.

We went to two meetings last week and it kind of gave us insight and prepared us for what is to come. Needless to say, it was an emotional shock. Brendan will be deploying to Kuwait on February 4 for two weeks. They have no idea as to where they're going after that because the Iraqi government keeps kicking the soldiers out of the camps, but as soon as I know I'll pass it along. Thats what is happening as of right now.. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated as I get the info. Thanks everyone. Have a great week.

Bringing you up to speed

I am writing this blog to keep everyone up to speed on the travels of my son , Pvt. Brendan Smitke. Brendan will be leaving within the next couple weeks for the war front. As with most things Army we won't know for sure where he's at until he gets there. He's been told Sadr City and Bagdad but now who knows? It could well be he'll be heading to Afghanistan which is probably my worst fear with things escalating the way they have been.

Brendan joined the Army this past summer and is a member of the infantry. He is attached to a tank unit at the moment. That in itself makes me feel a bit better. Not too many vehicles sturdier than a tank.

He started his Army experience in Fort Benning , Georgia and is stationed , at the moment , in Fort Hood , Texas. The base at Fort Benning was nothing like I had ever pictured a military base. Things have certainly changed since the days of Gomer Pyle. I'm told that Fort Hood is so much bigger that Fort Benning so I'm anxious to get there and take the tour.

I'll be heading down to Texas the beginning of February to see Brendan off. I'll be helping drive his car back since the drive is just too much for Rachel to do alone with the baby. As cold as it's been in Ohio I'm looking forward to the warm Texas sun.

I've included some pictures from Fort Benning. We went down there twice to visit with him. Once for a week-end pass on his birthday and the 2nd visit for his  graduation.

As some of you may know he met his long lost half-brother Bryan down there. After their father passed away in 1991 I lost all touch with Fred's other 2 boys. As fate would have it Bryan  , who is 31 , married and father of 2 , signed up for the Army in the infantry division. He was in a barracks right next door to Brendan's. He is in mechanized and arrived 2 weeks before Brendan but they graduated the same day. Just an amazing turn of events. Fred had to have been proudly looking down on those boys when they graduated that day. Bryan is now in Afghanistan (left before Christmas). I am hoping to keep in contact with him during his tour so I can let Brendan know his brother is doing well.

This blog will be used to keep people updated on what Brendan is doing and where he is at ( as much as he can say ) and I will post his contact info as soon as we get it so people can send pictures and support letters. I've also included a list of links that are military related. If you have a military blog or know of one that you'ld like to share please do so and I'll be sure to add the blog to my list.

Also , I had started blogging on myspace about Brendan but too many friends were having a real problem with viewing it. (hi Rita!!) The link to that page is  myspace.com/Pettyhead